Kogo language


Kogo, also referred to as Bakoko and Basoo, is a Bantu language of Cameroon. North and South Kogo are as distinct from each other as they are from Basaa; they might be considered three dialects of a single language.

Demographics

Traditionally, Bakoko and Basaa societies had a very close relationship, especially on a religious level. The Bakoko language was the language of ritual for both the Bakoko and Basaa, and the Basaa language was also familiar to the Bakoko. After the Second World War, as the ritual relations gradually receded, this social and linguistic symbiosis declined. Today, the two languages are sociolinguistically distinct. Bakoko speakers also tend to speak Basaa today, but Basaa speakers typically do not speak Bakoko.
There are many dialects because of the geographical fragmentation of the Bakoko-speaking area. ALCAM lists the following dialects.
Central dialects:
In the south:
  • Yasug, which extends into the department of Océan.
Detached from the southern contiguous group mentioned above are four separate Bakoko groups, each with its own dialect:
In the west:
  • Yapoma, spoken in Bakoko canton of the Wouri department, south of Douala
  • Yabyan-Yapeke, spoken by the two groups inhabiting the Bakoko canton of the Moungo department, south of Dibombari
In the northwest:
In the northeast:
  • Bisóo is spoken in Basso canton. The dialect is also called ɓasóó ɓalikol, or Adiangók. This variety is centered at Logbikoy, and also the pilgrimage site of Ngok-Litouba.
There are around 50,000 speakers.

Orthography

Kogo uses the Latin script. Its alphabet is based on the General Alphabet of [Cameroon Languages] and consists of 7 vowels and 20 consonants.
Letters ABƁCDEƐFGHIJKLMNŊOƆPSTUVWYZ
Letters abɓcdeɛfghijklmnŋoɔpstuvwyz
International [Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]